Friday, June 20, 2008

Physical-virtual interpolation

Abstract: A display system and method for use in controlling movement of a virtual image version of a physical object is described. A physical object may be placed on or near a display surface, which may sense the presence of the object and display a virtual image version of the object. In response to movement of the physical object, the virtual image may move as well. Movement speed of the virtual image may be capped at a maximum speed, so that if the physical object is moved too quickly, the image will remain moving at a constant maximum speed. Movement effects, such as blurring, fading, animation, etc. may be applied to the image during the movement. The movement may change direction as the physical object is detected in different positions, and the movement effects may be applied to smooth the change in direction (e.g., curving trajectory).

Example Claim: One or more computer-readable media, storing one or more computer-executable instructions for performing the following steps:

performing a first scanning to detect the location of a physical object with respect to a display surface;

initially displaying, on the display surface, an image as a virtual representation of said object based on the first scanning;

subsequently performing a second scanning to detect the location of the physical object with respect to the display surface;

identifying a difference in position of the physical object in the first and second scans;

moving the image from a first location towards a second location, the first and second locations corresponding to positions of the object during said first and second scans, respectively; and

limiting a speed of motion of the image during the moving step to a maximum speed.

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